DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE IDEAS OR CHARACTERS FROM PRINCE OF TENNIS.
(A/N): Hi! I hope you've enjoyed the story thus far. Anyway, has anyone noticed the hidden pairing hint in the river sketch for chapter 1? My friend pointed it out to me that the bandana & notebook was a major inukai hint. Funny thing is, I didn't notice or even think of it until she said so. My friend said that my subconscious is a closet Inukai fan… I really don't know what to think…
Also, did anyone notice that for the first 2 chapters, Kaidou has never actually spoken despite how major his part in them was? He's been silent and Ryoma was doing all of the talking… I just realized that… XD Then again, Kaidou never did strike me as the talkative type, although the same could be said for Ryoma…
On another note, my friend, the very one that requested this fic, is on some self-appointed mission to get as many RyoKai pairing converts as she possibly can… Watching her attempt this is funny, scary, and amusing all at the same time. Personally, I found the pairing cute, but unlikely, however fun it is to write about.
Well, for those who've read this far into the fic, please enjoy the rest of the story!
Sketches: A Healing Breeze
"Where's Kaidou?" Oishi asked, searching the tennis courts, "I haven't seen him at all, today. Did he even come to practice?"
"I think he was absent," Momo answered, glancing around the courts as practice drew to a close and the first years began to clean up, "Heh, figures… Mamushi's skipping."
Walking from the locker rooms already changed, Ryoma threw a look over at the second year, "Mada mada dane. Momo-senpai shouldn't jump to conclusions. It started raining after practice yesterday and Kaidou-senpai jogged home."
"Yes, there's an 86 percent chance Kaidou has fallen ill. I suppose we'll need to bring his homework to him." Inui stated, "Although, I don't believe anyone's ever been to his house or knows his address. Hmmm…"
"It's in the student directory, senpai," Ryoma stated, already on his way pass the courts and off campus, "Don't worry about his homework. I'm taking it to him today."
"Aa," Inui acknowledged, as he closed his note book and began to head to the locker rooms.
"Inui, did everyone agree to come?" Fuji asked as the other Seigaku regulars began packing.
"No," the data collector replied, "If it wasn't about tennis or any emergency, they saw no need for an interschool meeting."
"I see," Fuji murmured, a small frown forming on his slender face, "then I suppose we'll have to split up and visit each of them individually…"
"Yes, I suppose we will," Inui agreed while jotting down a few notes in his book, "Shall we split up who will visit which school?"
"Aa, that's fine. I believe I'll visit Yuuta at St. Rudolph's, if that's alright with everyone," Fuji commented, his blue eyes showing for a second.
"Yeah, that's fine. Can I cover Fudomine? It'll give me a chance to see An-chan again… Although, I'll have to see Kamio and Ibu too," Momo added as he buttoned up his shirt.
"Yes, yes, Fuji will see St. Rudolph's and Momoshiro will see Fudomine," Inui repeated, scribbling even faster into his notebook, "I suppose I should cover Rikkai, seeing as I need to speak with Renji about this investigation as well."
"Ano, what about Hyotei?" Oishi asked, "Who should cover them?"
"Tezuka," Fuji called softly, "Could you?"
"No," the captain replied tersely, "I already asked Coach Sumire to check out the art students and I'm already pouring over her reports. Find someone else to do it."
"Nya, what about Ochibi-chan?" Kikumaru interjected, "He can talk to Hyotei."
"I don't think he'd help," Kawamura said, "I mean, he the one trying to keep the secret, right?"
"Kawamura is right," Inui stated, "Sending Echizen there will accomplish nothing. We should speak to Hyotei as a group, although it may be in our best interest to get some people from Fudomine, Rikkai, and St. Rudolph's involved first."
"Alright, but how are we going to convince them to help with the investigation," Oishi fretted, "It's not like they'd care about some mystery artist…"
"Well, there were pictures of everyone drawn in that sketch book," Inui began.
"and if they were to see those pictures, I'm sure they'd also be curious about this mystery artist," Fuji finished.
"Ano, how exactly are we going to get our hands on those pictures?" Kawamura, Momo, and Kikumaru asked, creasing their brows and frowning in thought.
"We'll have to take them from Echizen, of course," Fuji murmured.
"Fuji, can you, Kikumaru, and Momoshiro cover that?" Inui asked.
Sharing a glance, Momo and Kikumaru grinned while Fuji's smile widened just a bit more. The trio nodded and began planning on how they would retrieve the evidence.
Stopping in front of a simple, yet lovely house, Ryoma glanced down at the paper in his hands to confirm the address. Slowly, he made his way up the steps and knocked. This is where Kaidou-senpai lives? It's… nice…
"Hello?" An older woman greeted as she opened the door, "Can I help you?"
"Hai. Kaidou-senpai was absent today, so I brought his homework. How is he?" Ryoma asked politely bowing to her. .She's the woman from that picture… The one making the bentou… She must be senpai's mother… She's pretty…
"Oh! My son was sick today. Thank you for bringing his homework. Please, come in." She exclaimed as she ushered the boy into the living room. "Kaoru's room is upstairs, down the hall. It's the second door to the right. He's supposed to be sleeping right now, but that boy's never done well with being cooped up indoors. It makes him restless. I'm sure he won't mind seeing you. It would be a welcome break for him."
"Arigatou gozaimasu, Kaidou-san." Ryoma bowed before making his way towards the stairs. As he passed through the living room, he noticed a younger boy curled up on the sofa, reading a book. That boy… He's also from the picture, so he must be… Senpai's younger brother? I wonder what his name is…
Reaching the door Ryoma slowly and quietly opened it and slipped in to be greeted by the sight of his pale, fevered, and shivering team-mate. He was startled when the older boy turned his head and looked at him almost expectantly with those dark, bleary eyes. I… I've never seen him so… vulnerable… fragile… It's unnerving…
"Kaidou-senpai," Ryoma murmured as he sat on the edge of the bed, "I brought your homework. You shouldn't have run home in the rain yesterday."
The bed-ridden boy responded with a small, shaky nod before descending into a violent coughing fit, his chest heaving painfully with each cough as the boy gasped for breath between them. Noticing the glass of water on the nearby desk, Ryoma swiftly picked it up and offered it to Kaidou, who took it gratefully and began to sip the cool drink, soothing his parched, scratchy throat.
"Senpai, don't strain yourself, you need to recover," Ryoma chided softly. Seeing you like this… Some how, it feels wrong…
Kaidou nodded again before his gaze drifted over to the desk. Glancing back at it, Ryoma noticed the black note book he had found the locker room not too long ago. Walking over, he picked it up and gently handed it to the other boy, who shook his head and simply stared at him. Understanding dawned Ryoma. He's… Allowing me to look through it…
Again sitting at the bed, the freshman opened the sketchbook, almost reverently. Slowly, he turned the pages, still stopping at some of the older pictures to admire them again. Reaching the picture of the family, Ryoma pointed to the people in the picture, "This is your mother, right? She's really nice… Pretty too. She sort of reminds me of my mom… And this is your brother, right? I saw him down stairs reading a book. What's his name?"
"I'm Hazue," a light voice answered from the door, "you shouldn't force Nii-san to talk so soon, it hurts his throat and makes him cough a lot. Who are you?"
"Echizen Ryoma. I'm his team-mate from school." the first year answered, his eyes wandering to the door, from which Hazue glided in, carrying a bowl of soup.
"Nice to meet you," he greeted as he reached the bed before turning to his older brother, "Nii-san, here's some soup. It's hot, so be careful, you might burn your tongue."
Tilting his head in acknowledgement, Kaidou allowed a wan smile to grace his pale face and carefully took the bowl from his younger sibling. Slowly, yet steadily, despite his shaking form, he spooned the hot liquid into his mouth.
Sitting on the bed next to Ryoma, Hazue looked at the notebook and commented, "So you've seen Nii-san's drawings. Do you like them? I don't know most of the people he draws because it's all about tennis…"
"They're beautiful. I recognize the people because I've played against some of them. I can tell you about them, if you like." Ryoma offered politely.
"That would be nice." Hazue agreed as the two began animatedly discussing Kaoru's drawings, the people in them, and the funny things Ryoma learned from watching them. Kaidou-senpai's little brother has such a calm presence… It's strange, but it suits him…
In the midst of their conversation, both boys failed to notice that Kaoru had finished the soup and was drawing in the sketchbook. Only after their laughter over Atobe's nickname, the Monkey King, had died down did Hazue see the empty bowl and Ryoma notice the slight sound of a pencil scratching over the smooth surface of the paper. Curious, they leaned over and looked down at the sketch book. There, was a drawing of them sitting on the bed together, talking and laughing like best friends who had known each other for ages. Kaoru had finished the basic outlines and was shading in the picture, giving it more depth. The younger boys were enchanted by the fluid motion of the seemingly dull pencil as it skated over the paper, magically adding minute details and giving life to the image.
Slowly pulling himself away, Ryoma realized just how stuffy the room felt. Glancing at the window, he noticed that it was a bright, sunny day. Carefully standing, he strode over to the window and opened it. "Kaidou-senpai could use some fresh air," he sighed, enjoying the feeling of the warm, fragrant breeze entering the room, "I should go home soon."
Turning back towards the brothers, he noticed the subtle gestures and looks passed between them just before Hazue stood up and offered him the sketchbook. "Nii-san wants you to have this."
"But this is…" Ryoma trailed off uncertainly, "I couldn't possibly…"
"It's one of his older sketchbooks and he just finished it. You appreciate his drawings, far more than most people and you understand them better than I do, seeing as you know who they're about. It's not often Nii-san gets to show his work to others and it's even rarer they get to keep it. Please take it." Hazue reasoned with the older boy, a tiny smiling forming as he pushed the book into his new friend's hands.
"A-Arigatou," Ryoma murmured, bowing in thanks, "Get well soon, Kaidou-senpai. Hazue-kun, it was nice meeting you."
"Sayonara," Hazue waved then turned and picked up the empty bowl from the dresser next to Kaoru's bed, "Please come again, I'd like to hear more about Nii-san's tennis and the people he meets."
"Aa. Sayonara," Ryoma waved as he left, the black sketchbook clutched to his chest, a special treasure he felt an unusual wave of protectiveness over.
It was later that night that Ryoma once again found himself enraptured by the images of the sketchbook. So many new drawings, from Mizuki's scheming smirk as he dragged an anxious and confused Yuuta along to some unknown destination to Shishido and Ootori unsuccessfully attempting to awaken a deeply sleeping Akutagawa. It was overwhelming.
Finally reaching the last page, Ryoma smiled fondly at the picture. This is the one Kaidou-senpai drew today… Me and Hazue-kun talking… It's different to see myself laughing like that, even on paper… But, it was… fun… Perhaps, I'll stop by again, when senpai's feeling better… Then, all three of us can talk and laugh together… Just like in this picture…
(A/N): How was it? I wasn't sure how to incorporate the Seigaku investigation and I still have to show them getting the evidence. Does anyone have ideas for that? I'd really appreciate the help.
Also, after I wrote the chapter, I realized that once again, Kaidou was left mute! Going back over it, I couldn't really find a place to change it so that he could talk without hurting himself because of his cold… I was also stuck on how to wrap up this chapter, so sorry if the ending was kind of crappy. I really tried to fix it.
Well, writing this fic and reading and rereading it has got me wanting to see the actual drawings, much like many of the readers. I was wondering, are there any artists out there that would like to attempt some of the drawings described in the fic? It would be really nice to see… Well, that was just me musing for a bit…
Anyway, I've begun taking fic requests from people outside of my circle of friends. I found that it helps with my writer's blocks and even gives me inspiration for more stories. I'm not a very good writer, a complete amateur in fact, but if any one likes my writing enough, they can send me a private message requesting a fic. I'll do the best I can to answer these, but I'm only taking the first few I get.
On a final note, please check out my Tenipuri Fanfic & Challenge Forum, you can link to it from my profile. There you can post challenges, recommend fics, etc. Also, for all of you tenipuri writers, it's a good place to start looking for inspiration or get help on your fics.
Thank you, to everyone who has helped me with their suggestions and reviews, I truly appreciate it.